Brown will most likely never be able to live down being the public face of the failed federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Indeed, he holds the distinction of having become part of the language.

“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job,” President George W. Bush told the FEMA director as much of the city was still under water.

“You’re doing a heck of a job” was magically transformed into “heckuva job, Brownie,” and is now defined in the Urban Dictionary as applying generally to any situation where one wants to convey “a complete and total screw-up.” Example: “The captain of the Titanic did a heck of a job.”

In recent days, Brown has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News to claim that for reasons of “pure politics,” President Barack Obama intentionally delayed responding to the oil spill that is gushing at an estimated rate of 200,000 gallons a day.

“This president has never supported Big Oil. He has never supported offshore drilling. And now he has an excuse to shut it back down,” Brown said during an interview with Fox News’s Neil Cavuto. “They played politics with this crisis and left the Coast Guard out there by themselves doing what they’re supposed to do.”

He told MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "We're seeing the Rahm Emanuel rule No. 1 taking effect, and that is to let no crisis go unused. So this is an opportunity for a president who wants to bankrupt the coal industry, and basically get rid of the oil and gas industry, to shut down offshore drilling."

Brown says he loves the back and forth. "I like arguing with these guys. I was a debater in high school, I was a debater in college ... I have two main attributes: I tell it like I think it. Here's what I think, and if you don't like it that's fine.”